“It was a tough bidding process against some of the top commercial cleaning companies in BC” says Ranjit Takhar President of Evergreen Building Maintenance.

The contract for cleaning College Of The Rockies is considered quite prestigious since it is the main college serving 6 or 7 cities in the Kootenays and is also one of the primary attractions of Cranbrook, BC.

Approximately 2,500 busy full time busy students use 200,000 sq. ft. of high traffic space including classrooms, indoor and outdoor recreational areas, parking lots, food courts and medical training facilities. This is quite a challenge considering the College requires a wide variety of expertise from its commercial cleaning company 365 days a year.

Takhar says “This contract proves we are ready to take on larger federal / educational institutions that require full-time day porters and consistent high volume service.”

The RFP from the College was clear that it only wanted to deal with companies that could guarantee that “the work shall be performed by fully trained persons, competent in the particular operation assigned to them.”

Not An Easy Job For Any Commercial Cleaning Company

This is a busy college campus. They don’t have time for small companies that can’t provide “fully trained” staff for all aspects of the commercial cleaning duties.

Right from the start it was clear that the College Of The Rockies wanted competent who can clean according to “specifications” using the “best techniques of the trade”.

Meeting the “specifications” would require a mature commercial cleaning company that can consistently supply:

All labour needed to do the job, at all times. If someone gets sick, they must be able to provide a replacement worker instantly, including another supervisor, if needed.

All cleaning supplies, chemicals and materials like sealers, waxes, plastic garbage bags, liners, tampons, sanitary napkins and disposal bags must be of good quality.

The commercial cleaning company must have all necessary equipment like polishers, commercial grade vacuums, auto scrubbers, buffers, carpet extractors, etc. and they have to be less than five years old.

All materials and chemicals must meet Canada Standards of Safety.

Using the “best techniques of the trade” means each and every person on the job must be thoroughly trained and have experience. The College would not tolerate amateur “mistakes” commonly made by newbies. A thorough cleaning and sanitizing of high priority areas would be required every day including:

Healthcare facilities such as dental labs, nursing labs and first aid classrooms.

Cafeteria and chef’s training classrooms and kitchens.

Daycare areas.

Aboriginal Gathering Place

“Extras” Are Included In The Contract

In addition to all scheduled cleaning, the commercial cleaning company is expected to

wash walls, ceilings, doors and window frames

floor stripping and refinishing

window cleaning inside and outside the building

clean the atrium and glass walls

clean light fixtures, lens and interior of fixtures

clean dust from ceiling

All tasks must be performed without breaching security measures and in accordance with fire and emergency regulations.

Since the College Of The Rockies is a public institution they also wanted to make sure the commercial cleaning company treats its workers properly. The contract would only be awarded to a company that could prove that it pays its workers properly and on time. All workers must be covered by Workers Compensation.

Comprehensive general liability insurance would be required by the company and all employees must have a Commercial Fidelity Bond in order to protect the College, its agents and “servants”.

When you look at all the requirements and scope of service, only an established company would be able to handle the job…new companies and small companies need not apply.

Fortunately, Evergreen Building Maintenance was able to provide proof that they could meet and exceed all the requirements of the College Of The Rockies at a great price!

Congratulations to all the local people that will be working to keep the College Of The Rockies looking beautiful!

If you have a local business, whether it’s small or large, Evergreen Building Maintenance has the in-house resources to keep your premises clean all year long.